Al-Naimi wins Al-Attiyah Foundation’s Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award

DOHA – Ali Al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s recently retired Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, was recently bestowed ‘The 2016 Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award for the Advancement of International Energy Policy & Diplomacy’ from The Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy & Sustainable Development. The Al-Attiyah Foundation board of trustees bestows one Honorary Award each year to an outstanding global energy industry leader and the 2016 accolade was presented to H.E. Al-Naimi last night at a gala dinner at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. The remaining six Al-Attiyah Awards for Lifetime Achievement are reviewed and scored each year by an International Selection Committee. “I am sure history will recognize Al Naimi as one of the greatest energy leaders of the last 100 years,” said Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, who presented the former Saudi oil minister with the award at a gala dinner event at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. “His long career saw him literally rise from the shop floor to become the world’s most powerful oil executive for 30 years.” Al-Naimi’s journey to become the most influential man in the global oil markets began 70 years ago, when he joined as an office boy at Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, rising to become its first Saudi President. He climbed up the ranks and became the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in 1995, putting him at the helm of the world’s largest crude exporting organization. As the OPEC linchpin, Saudi Arabia and Al-Naimi’s influence stretched far beyond the country’s borders and he was regularly called upon to calm oil markets through turbulent political and economic waters in the Middle East and beyond. Christophe de Margerie, the late chief executive of Total, was the 2015 beneficiary of this Honorary Award for the Advancement of International Energy Policy & Diplomacy, which is the only category to be selected each year by the Foundation’s board of trustees. The Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Energy Award is the foremost honor to recognize individuals for their lifetime achievement in the advancement of the global energy industry. — SG